on tuesday this week, i went to the ted leo show at il motore, as part of the suoni per il popolo festival. it was my second time in that venue, my fourth time seeing that band.

the opening band was screaming females, from new brunswick, new jersey. wow, that vocalist can really yell! they were alright. i feel like standard indie rock stuff doesn't impress me so much anymore.

the space in front of the stage quickly filled up for ted leo's set. i never realized how scarily skinny the dude is. the band had good energy. stage banter was so-so; i know he's done better. at least, he got to practice his french. i must say, the sound was not great; the guitars were so loud that they drowned out the vocals throughout the set. it was disappointing in that aspect.

but i was quite happy about the mix of old and new songs. when i realized how many old hits they were playing, i was hoping they would play "timorous me" from one of their really early albums. but they didn't during their regular set. still, i had a good time, especially during the older favourites, such as "where have all the rudeboys gone?", "me and mia", and "counting down the hours".

so my memory is quite poor. here are the tracks i remember:

from "the tyranny of distance" (2001):- dial up

from "the hearts of oak" (2003):- where have all the rudeboys gone?

from "shake the sheets" (2004):- me and mia- counting down the hours

from "living with the living" (2007):- ???

from "the brutalist bricks" (2010):- the mighty sparrow- even heroes have to die- bottled in cork- one polaroid a day- where was my brain?

for the encore, ted leo returned to the stage solo, wearing a t-shirt with "happy 400th, quebec". haha, cool. he played a new song, then a cover. finally, he played "timorous me" and the band joined in. best way to finish! exactly as i had hoped for.